October 2013

PRODUCERSHanson Building Products has enlisted Ken Primavera, PE, a 17-year veteran of the water transmission industry, to lead its Hanson Pressure Pipe division as vice president of sales and engineering. He brings more than 40 years’ experience in engineering, sales, and project management, joining Hanson from Ameron International Corp., where he served most recently as Wind Towers Division president and Water Transmission Group vice president of Engineering, Marketing, and Sales. Prior to Ameron, Primavera worked in a variety of engineering and sales roles at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.

Separately, Scott Szwejbka has been appointed to senior vice president of Hanson Pipe & Precast. He replaces Mark Carpenter, who was recently tapped to lead Hanson Engineered Products, a division of Hanson Building Products North America comprised of Hanson Pressure Pipe, Hanson Structural Precast, and Hanson Pipe & Precast Canada. A member of the Hanson Building Products team since 2005, Szwejbka has held a variety of management roles across multiple product lines. Most recently, he served as vice president of sales for Hanson Pipe & Precast’s U.S. operations. As SVP of Hanson Pipe & Precast, he will oversee sales and manufacturing for 40 U.S. Pipe & Precast operations.

The glazing and curtain wall business of Oldcastle Inc., BuildingEnvelope, sponsored “In Pursuit of Architecture,” a mid-September conference on buildings and ideas at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Co-organized by the MoMA Department of Architecture and Design and Log, an independent journal on architecture and the contemporary city founded in 2003, the conference offered a series of roundtable discussions about the physical and conceptual challenges of creating architecture.

“Providing this forum for architects from around the world to exchange ideas on exceptional architecture is an extraordinary opportunity,”said Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope CEO Ted Hathaway. “It helps create awareness of how leading architects are striving for excellence in a world with ever-changing sociopolitical, economic and environmental challenges.”

Toronto-based Coco Group, with integrated construction materials and heavy civil contracting businesses, has closed on the Russell Group, a peer operator serving Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Under its Russell Redi-Mix Concrete, Langenburg Redi-Mix Ltd., and Roblin Redi-Mix Ltd. brands, Russell Group produces and hauls aggregates, owning or operating 25-plus gravel pits, and provides a range of construction and retrofit services in heavy civil, roadway and railway works markets. The businesses join a Coco Group portfolio that includes portable concrete batch plants; a precast concrete business, Co-Pipe Products; and, an asphalt cement terminal, along with 27 stationary and two portable asphalt plants.

Acknowledging the full Russell team inherited with the transaction, CEO Jenny Coco notes, “Under the continued leadership of Ken Magnowski and Sam Brown, the company is poised to strengthen and grow our presence in Western Canada.”Our heavy civil construction expertise now spans from Alberta to Quebec and with this purchase we are able to service a new, diversified client base ranging from the potash industry [to] municipal and provincial governments, [while] expanding our Country’s transportation infrastructure network,” adds President Rocky Coco, who runs the business with his sister and parents, Nina and Bill Coco, who founded the company nearly 50 years ago.

Hanson’s Delery earns ASTM Award of MeritASTM International Committee C13 on Concrete Pipe has honored Oliver Delery Jr., Louisiana and Mississippi sales manager and engineer at Hanson Pipe and Precast LLC, New Orleans. The Award of Merit and its accompanying title of fellow is ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for distinguished service and outstanding participation in ASTM technical committee activities.

Committee C13 recognized Delery, a 31-year ASTM member, for his leadership and service to the committee and contributions to the development of standards for concrete pipe. He has served as chairman of C13 since 2007 and helped significantly broaden the membership of the committee.

Delery assumed his role at Hanson Pipe and Precast in 2002. Prior to that, he was Gulf Coast vice president/corporate engineer at Choctaw Inc., New Orleans, and president of New Orleans Cement Products Co. Inc. A licensed civil engineer in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, he specializes in concrete pipe and pre-cast products for storm and sanitary sewer applications. Delery is past chairman of the American Concrete Pipe Association, where he has received the Richard E. Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award and Richard C. Longfellow Award.

ORGANIZATIONSFollowing a tour of five commercial Sioux Falls, S.D., projects in conjunction with a Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute conference, the PCI Technical Activities Council has designated the city “precast-friendly”—the group’s first such recognition of a municipality’s architectural and structural precast inventory.

“We heard time again how impressed [members] were with Sioux Falls,” says 2013 PCI Chairman Tom Kelley (Gage Brothers), who presented the city’s mayor with a certificate noting the precast-friendly distinction. Reflecting on conference attendees’ response to the tour and locale, he told the Sioux Falls Business Journal, “[Producers] from all over the country were impressed with the people, the buildings and, of course, the precast in Sioux Falls.”

The American Concrete Institute will present the Concrete Sustainability Award to Titan America CEO Aris Papadopoulos, at this month’s ACI Fall 2013 Convention Opening Session in Phoenix. Papadopoulos is being recognized for his leadership in unifying North American stakeholders on a common direction for sustainability efforts and position on product resiliency. The opening session will also see presentation of:

• The Arthur J. Boase Award to David Darwin, FACI, in recognition of his research on reinforcing steel and concrete cracking, and for contributions to the technical work of ACI and the industry.

• The Robert E. Philleo Award to Robert Douglas Hooton, professor at the University of Toronto, for exemplary teaching, research and service to the profession in the areas of durability of concrete, properties of concrete-making materials, and preparation of standards and specifications.

• The Jean-Claude Roumain Innovation in Concrete Award to Kevin MacDonald, principal engineer at Beton Consulting Engineers LLC, in recognition of his service to the concrete industry and innovative work to increase the use and understanding of recycled aggregates and supplementary cementitious materials for creating sustainable concrete mixtures with low embodied energy and reduced carbon footprints.

• The Distinguished Achievement Award to Hensel Phelps Construction in recognition of leadership in the advancement of the sustainable use of concrete through innovation and efficient use of local resources.

Separate from the ACI honors, University of Toronto/Department of Civil Engineering Professor Doug Hooton, PhD, has received the Frank E. Richart Award for his meritorious contributions to ASTM International Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates. Hooton is an honorary member of both C09 and Committee C01 on Cement, and currently serves as C01 vice chairman. He also chairs Subcommittees C01.29 on Sulfate Resistance and C09.67 on Resistance to the Environment, and is secretary of C09.50 on Risk Management for Alkali Aggregate Reactions. A member of ASTM International since 1981, he also served a term on the ASTM Committee on Publications.

In addition to ASTM International, Hooton is a fellow of the American Ceramic Society, the American Concrete Institute, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Engineering Institute of Canada. He is also a member of the Association of Professional Engineers in the province of Ontario, the Canadian Standards Association, the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, the Transportation Research Board, and RILEM—the international union of laboratory and experts in construction materials, systems and structures, and serves on the board of directors at the Association of Canadian Industries Recycling Coal Ash.

Hooton has authored or co-authored more than 200 technical articles in his field, and has won several awards outside ASTM, including the Robert E. Philleo Award and Arthur R. Anderson Medal from ACI; the Ontario Professional Engineer Medal for Research and Development; and the Chair’s Bronze Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research from the University of Toronto, among others.

A graduate of the University of Toronto where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, Hooton received his Ph.D. from McMaster University in Ontario. He joined the faculty at his alma mater in 1994, and was appointed Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada/Cement Association of Canada senior industrial research chair in concrete durability and sustainability at the university in 2010. He also serves as a retained consultant at LVM (formerly John Emery Geotechnical Engineering Ltd.) in Toronto. Prior to his career in academia, he was a research engineer at Ontario Hydro.

NCMA, ICPI: Block, paver, SRW rebound continuesThe National Concrete Masonry Association and Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute’s 2013 Industry Sales Profile provides timely data on North American concrete masonry unit, paver and segmental retaining wall product shipments, including gains from 2011 to 2012. Reflecting results from a survey of 73 U.S. and Canadian producers, the Profile confirms unit masonry interests’ steady rebound from the recession. In the U.S., the survey finds a 2.2 percent increase in 2012 paver output over the prior year: 4.26 million square feet versus 4.17 million square feet per producer. Gray block output per producer increased 21 percent in 2012, to an average 8.1 million units versus the prior year’s 6.71 million unit average.

The 2013 Industry Sales Profile is the second survey with joint NCMA and ICPI member participation. Hard copies are available for $99, plus shipping and handling, from NCMA, 703/713-1900, or the Publications section at www.ncma.org.

Fiber-reinforced concrete standard improves assessment of specimens’ post-crack performanceLaboratories and manufacturers of equipment used to test the flexural performance of concrete will be the primary users of the proposed standard, ASTM WK42757, Practice for Supporting Rollers Used in Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Beam Tests. The document is being developed by Subcommittee C09.42 on Fiber-Reinforced Concrete part of ASTM International Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates

ASTM WK42757 will describe the design of suitable supporting rollers to be used in beam tests conducted to assess the post-crack performance of a fiber-reinforced concrete mixture. Included in the proposed practice will be roller drawings and dimensions, roller material type, and roller operation during a test. The practice will also include a method for correcting test results to account for a constant, relatively low degree of friction rollers exhibit during a test.

According to C09 member and TSE Pty Ltd. Managing Director Stefan Bernard, ASTM WK42757, once approved, will be used in conjunction with ASTM C1399/C1399M, Test Method for Obtaining Average Residual Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete, plus ASTM C1609/C1609M, Test Method for Flexural Performance of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (Using Beam with Third-Point Loading). He notes that evidence from testing shows that friction in rollers can cause a bias in the modulus of rupture obtained at first crack, so rollers covered by the proposed practice might also be applicable for use with ASTM C78, Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Third-Point Loading).

MANUFACTURERSMack Trucks,Inc. has named Stephen Roy president of North American Sales & Marketing, effective January 2014. Roy has led the company’s aftermarket business since 2008, and will succeed Kevin Flaherty, who is retiring after more than 40-plus years of service. Over his more than 25-year career in the truck industry, Roy has been involved in virtually every aspect of the business, including truck sales, service, aftermarket parts, financing/leasing, and telematics. He will remain based in Greensboro, N.C.

MMFX Steel Corp. has named Bassam Saddawi corporate engineering manager, providing business development and project management guidance across North America to further the acceptance and use of the company’s reinforcing products. Saddawi has more than 19 years of extensive international experience in project and construction management, as well as design engineering. Prior to joining MMFX, Saddawi served as a senior project manager and team leader for AECOM. There he provided technical expertise to value engineering applications during design, construction, operation and maintenance phases of structures.

Caterpillar introduces Speak Up!/Listen Up! for Construction, a new safety training tool customized for the construction industry and developed in collaboration with 16 of the world’s leading contractors—Kiewit, Flatiron, Fluor, Granite, Walsh, Ames, Atkinson, Stacy & Witbeck, Boh Brothers, JF Shea, Zachry, Lane, Mortenson, Barnard, Sundt, and Traylor. The training materials are designed to help employees overcome the anxiety that can be associated with giving or receiving safety-related feedback. The complete package includes videos, presentation materials, handouts and a facilitator’s guide.

“Caterpillar has a long history of supporting our colleagues in the construction industry in the drive to continuously improve safety,” says CEO Doug Oberhelman. “This project reflects our belief that at-risk behaviors on any job site can be minimized when people communicate openly about safety.”

“Construction-focusedmessagingmakes the material even more compelling to employees in our industry,” said Atkinson Director of Safety David Watts. “Customizing the content was a way for the companies involved in the project to demonstrate our commitment to share world-class best safety practices.”

The customization process aligns with Caterpillar’s strategy to develop products and services to meet the unique needs of the industries it serves. “The same is true for safety programs,” notes Tim Crane, Caterpillar Safety Services manager. “This tool speaks directly to construction employees and helps them communicate in a way that enhances trust and respect. That’s good for safety [and] business in general.”

Heidelberg, Lafarge host forum for Cement Sustainability InitiativeCement Association of Canada members and peers from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) convened last month in British Columbia to exchange ideas on best production, environmental management and market development practices. CAC was a partner with CSI in the Vancouver gathering, themed “Sustainable Construction: Building Tomorrow’s World” and hosted by the operators of the province’s two cement mills, Heidelberg Cement and Lafarge Canada.

WBCSD Managing Director Philippe Fonta and CAC President Michael McSweeney led the two-day CSI Forum, examining:• Industry strategies and achievements in reducing energy use and carbon dioxide emissions;• Innovations, new technology and new best practices that increase the industry’s contribution to more sustainable, resilient communities, from lower carbon cement to carbon capture and reuse in cement manufacturing;• Sustainable construction success stories in municipal, institutional, commercial and residential settings; and,• The increasing importance of a resilient built environment in the face of climate change and escalating urbanization.

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Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete. With an editorial focus on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics, Concrete Products provides practical information for management professionals on how to run their day to day business.